Coast Guard searching for missing swimmer off Corolla Beach, NC

WILMINGTON, N.C. — The Coast Guard and other agencies are searching for a swimmer off Corolla Beach, North Carolina,Thursday.

Watchstanders in the Coast Guard Sector North Carolina Command Center in Wilmington received a 911 call at about 1:55 p.m. that a 30-year-old male was seen by his wife and friend going underwater and not resurfacing at approximately 12:45 p.m.

The missing swimmer is a black, 5-foot-10-inch, 200-pound man wearing a blue and orange bathing suit.

Sector North Carolina watchstanders issued an urgent marine information broadcast, diverted an already-airborne MH-60 Jayhawk helicopter crew from Coast Guard Air Station Elizabeth City, North Carolina, and launched a 47-foot Motor Lifebat crew from Coast Guard Station Oregon Inlet in Nags Head, North Carolina, at approximately 2:00 p.m.

The Coast Guard assets arrived on scene and joined Corolla Ocean Rescue lifeguards and local police in searching for the swimmer.

Anyone with information about the missing swimmer is requested to contact the Sector North Carolina command center at 910-343-3800,